mtv and the madonna phenomenon

MTV and THE MADONNA PHENOMENON


"Madonna's intuitive grasp on the televisual world in
which we live- of the medium's possibilities for engaging
spectators in diverse ways- that in part accounts for her
success. She is the supreme television heroine." (E. Ann
Kaplan 271)


"What are the main theories which we have studied so
far and how have they affected how you view television?"-
This is the question which this paper is supposed to answer.
Obviously there is not enough time or space in which to
discuss every theory which we have touched on. As a
compromise I decided to write about a topic to which almost
every theory that we have discussed can be applied: MTV and
the "Madonna Phenomenon".

As E. Ann Kaplan stated in her article on feminist
criticism, Madonna is truly the ultimate television heroine.
A discussion on contemporary popular culture and especially
on media culture could never be complete without bringing up
Madonna. She can be discussed in terms of feminism,
ideology, hegemony and commercialism as seen in both
Kaplan's as well as in John Fiske's article on British
Cultural Studies.

In order to properly explain how the "Madonna
Phenomenon" has become such an important concept in media
studies, one must look first at how influential MTV (music
television) has become in the last decade. MTV addresses the
"desires, fantasies, and anxieties" of young people(Kaplan
270) who have, like myself, grown up in a decade when all
the traditional institutions and theories that were always
respected, are being questioned. It has become the center of
discussions of many young people who have grown up idolizing
the figures shown on the network. MTV is a culture in
itself. With it's own news, fashion and music programs it
can easily be the considered the basis for the formation of
thought of an entire generation.

The images depicted in music videos, of androgynous
stars and situations have aided in rendering the clear line
between the genders rather blurry. This makes MTV an
important aspect in the study of post-modern theories.
Videos are often quite abstract and it is hard to figure out
their true meanings. Unlike other television programming,
videos are usually not made up of clear parts or scenes
which produce an easily identifiable and readable image. It
is often hard to tell, for example whether a music video is
sexist or whether it is simply making a parody of earlier,
sexist, Hollywood productions. Looking at videos of fully
clothed men , singing about love while bleach-blond girls in
bikinis dance around them can be quite confusing at times.
Is it possible that these videos are actually daring to be
so blatantly sexist? It is highly doubtful.

The people behind the Music Video industry have quite
brilliantly built up an entirely new television and music
empire, complete with it's own stars. They have managed to
use a form much like that of television commercials to
glorify their products which are in this case the singers.
There are those stars who are now known more for their
videos than for their music. At times these video stars are
not even close to being good singers but have such strong
innovative videos that they manage to become successful
without the possession of talent. These stars must be
analyzed not only as people but also as industries. Their
personas have been meticulously constructed and they have
been promoted as well as a can of "Coca-Cola Classic".

This brings us to the world of Madonna Veronica Louisa
Ciconne Penn, or rather Madonna- the most powerful woman in
the Music Video world. Madonna is the perfect object of
analysis, if one wishes to look inside the MTV world. She is
the subject of numerous discourses. There are both differing
feminist constructions of Madonna as well as Madonna's
constructions of herself.

The main topic which will be dealt with in this essay
is Madonna's place in the world of feminism. There are four
categories of feminism which are usually considered: Liberal
feminism, Radical feminism, Marxist feminism and Post-Modern
Feminism. The "Madonna Phenomenon" can be looked at in terms
of both the third and fourth categories, and is often
criticized by those who follow the radical feminist theory.
Madonna herself said, in bashing her radical feminist
critics: "Tell Gloria Steinem and the gang...to lighten up,
get a sense of humor. And look at my video that goes with
Material Girl. The guy who gets me in the end is the
sensitive one with no money."

The first theory which I am going to discuss in
relation to Madonna is Marxist Feminism. Marxist feminism is
based on the principle of how women as a group are
manipulated by economic and political factors which are out
of their control. In terms of television viewing, Marxist
feminism explores the portrayal of women on television
focusing on how they are shown in the workforce. The theory
behind Marxist feminist television analysis is that if women
are needed in the workforce at a given time than television
will portray women in the workforce. On the other hand if
women are not needed in the work force than it will be
economically beneficial to portray women as housewives or
holders of mediocre or "unimportant" jobs.

One may ask how Marxist feminism relates to Madonna. In
plain terms, Madonna has defied the constraints which
usually define how women are portrayed on television. In
times when many women on television and especially in music
videos are shown as mere sex symbols and rather inanimate
objects of desire, Madonna has proved herself to be a strong
independent woman. One may dispute this by pointing out that
Madonna uses her body to promote herself. Indeed her persona
is based mainly on her sexuality, but Madonna is not your
average sex symbol. She is a brilliant woman who has used a
patriarchal society which takes advantage of women and
manipulated it so that it works to her advantage. More than
a singer Madonna is a business woman. Madonna has not let
society and politics influence how she portrays herself or
how she lives at all. Madonna does what she wants, and
perhaps if other women did the same than Marxist feminists
would not have so much to complain about when they analyzed
women on television. When it comes to money making- the key
to Marxism Madonna is a genius.

Combining the "Madonna Phenomenon" with Marxist
feminism has been one of the main ideas which has influenced
my opinion of Madonna as a person. When watching her videos
I no longer see a woman dancing around in her underwear for
money. I see someone who knows well that women are easily
controlled by the patriarchal society and economy. She has
obviously studied how women are shown on television and made
a mockery out of it. People are offended by her because they
know well that she is one of the few women who has been
strong enough and has had enough courage to stand up for
what she thinks is right, and has been extremely successful
in doing so. Madonna could have marketed herself as many
other female stars do: as helpless victims of man, torn
apart by love gone wrong. Instead she has shown, to the
advantage of her many young female fans, that women do not
have to be victims.

In her music video "Express Yourself" Madonna actually
plays with the idea that in the career world men are the
bosses and women their workers. Based on early German
expressionistic films the video shows Madonna as the
performer, but also as the director and narrator. She is the
female heroine of the video but also presides over the text
before it begins, heralding it as dedicated to women in
retaliation to the male address in the German films. The
video empowers women and influences them to take control of
their lives.

The Post-Modernist feminist view is almost always
discussed in relation to Madonna. E. Ann Kaplan writes about
Madonna in relation to post-modernist feminism in bringing
up another one of her more famous videos, "Justify my Love".
This video perhaps took Madonna's post-modernist daring to
it's furthest. It was banned by MTV as obscene yet it sticks
out as one of Madonna's most brilliant works and career
steps to date. American viewers (who are probably not used
to anything more artistic than "Tool Time") misunderstood
Madonna's fantastical depiction of 1920's Germany. It is a
ornate, stylized vision. This video forces the viewer to
look past the images that they may see as obscene in order
to question the confines of "gender constructs and the
cultural constraints on sexual themes and sexual fantasies"
(Kaplan 275). Madonna has explored female fantasy and in
this respect, she is to be regarded as someone who tries the
limits of social codes, in a time when the dominant culture
is revolting against the challenges of the 1960s. She reacts
against American sexual mores and explores women's sexual
alternatives from lesbianism to sadomasochism. Madonna as a
feminist has proved herself to be a useful, rebellious role
model for young women who have the need to look up to
someone who is powerful and self-promoting. She enables
girls to see that female sexuality can be used to their
advantage, and that their subjectivities do not have to be
totally determined by the dominant patriarchy.

British Cultural studies also provide an opening for a
discussion on the "Madonna Phenomenon'. Her success has been
due in great part to television and music videos, and many
critics will dispute her musical talent but will concede to
the fact that Madonna has one of the most powerful "looks"
in history. These critics might say the Madonna has made her
fortune by using her sexuality to manipulate young girls. As
Fiske writes, however, this theory could only be true if one
thought of all Madonna fans as so-called "cultural dupes"
(Fiske 304). There is a great deal of evidence to support
this theory. Madonna may be seen as just another female star
who aims to show herself as the embodiment of male sexual
desires, this would propose that she is attempting to teach
young female fans that they are simply "feminine subjects
within patriarchy and as such is an agent of patriarchal
hegemony" (Fiske 305). I choose to believe as Fiske does
that this is not the case.

The young girls choose to imitate and in fact idolize
Madonna rather than anyone else because she goes against
ideological control and allows her fans to construct
meanings that relate with their personal social experiences.
The girls do not see her as someone who has conformed to the
dominant ideology of women but rather as someone who has
offered opportunities to resist it. "Her image becomes,
then, not an ideological role model for patriarchy, but
a site of semiotic struggle between the forces of
patriarchal control and feminine resistance...".

Madonna attempts to instill in girls the ability to
keep their care-free feelings towards exhibitionism and
self-expression that society tries to take away from them
when they reach womanhood. She recognizes the significance
of sexual identity in determining our social relations and
experiences. In working various meanings into her texts she
points out their role in male hegemony. She shows that women
may be either "worshipped and adored by man or used and
despised by him."

Madonna is a woman who has greatly influenced the
thoughts of many contemporary women. Some may hate her and
some may love her but all must admit that the packaging and
industry that is "Madonna" is monumental. In answering the
question "how have these theories affected the way you view
television?" I can sum up everything which I have just
written about. Were it not for my studying of the "Madonna
Phenomenon" I would look at the women on television (and in
particular those in music videos) quite differently. I would
see them,, as I had in the past as victims of the dominant
ideology and the patriarchal society which we live in.
Madonna proves that women can fight against the regulations
which are forced onto women: that if they are sexual beings
than they are nothing more than sex symbols, and that
society determines how women are portrayed on television.

If I could go as far as to describe Madonna in one
word it would be "strong". I not only enjoy her work but
admire her ability to do what she feels like doing, even if
she completely disregards society's definitions of decency.
She is one of the few women in history who has never asked
others to accept or like what she does. To conclude I would
like to quote Madonna herself in order to demonstrate her
atypical way of thinking which has brought her such
undeniable success:
"Poor is the man whose pleasures depend on the
permission of another"
-Madonna "Justify my Love"